(Before you read this please know that I’m not really sure what I am trying to convey here, so I think this post is more likely to turn out to be a stream of consciousness rather than anything particularly coherent – apologies in advance).

Yesterday I was at Stone’s Brewery, Tap Room and Bistro, in Escondido, CA. Many years ago, those words alone would have sent shivers up my spine and sent me into a little bit of a fan-boy, pant-wetting moment. Unconnected to my visit, those beer geek days are LONG behind me and only lasted a very short time, but nevertheless, yesterday I felt really, really flat, and the whole experience was quite the opposite of what I had once imagined it would be.

Let me start by saying that the whole American beer scene owes Stone, Greg Koch, Mitch Steele and all of the people that made Stone a reality, a massive debt of gratitude. This post is not about any shortcomings that Stone may have, nor is it meant to necessarily convey any negative comment about my experience and visit, it’s just that the whole thing did nothing for me. However, I am guessing that says more about me than it does about Stone, but I am not 100% sure. (See what I mean about rambling, here?).

When I arrived in the USA in 2000, in Georgia things were bad. Not only did we have an ABV cap on beer, there was almost zero knowledge of great beer. Sure there were a few pioneers out there, people like Dave Blanchard, Crawford Moran, the Sweetwater guys (Sweetwater was only about 2-3 years old when I arrived in ATL) and a few others, but generally it was a mess. Although I knew a lot about beer back then, I wasn’t all that familiar with the American scene. A little digging quickly led me to a couple of protagonists that seemed like they were really trailblazing; Stone and Dogfish Head were those breweries.

As usual with The Session, some posts are more interesting than others. Here’s the round-up for #94 in no particular order.

Miguel gives us this post at Amante De La Buena Cerveza. Unfortunately I don’t speak a word of Spanish, so I literally have no idea what he said and cannot comment on it.

David at Beer Tinted Spectaclesdescribes himself as a Zealot! At first that sounds a little negative to me, with a danger of getting into beer evangelism (something that I am not keen on), but the tone of the post seems less alarming than it did at first – I also remember Lamot Pils quite well – well, but not necessarily fondly.

Jeff at Make Mine Potato (?) describes his interest in cultivating a culture of writing about beer. This is something that I am interested in, since a lot of my professional life involves writing. Unfortunately, because I spend so much time writing as part of my work, I have found it increasingly difficult to write about beer on a regular basis. A shame, and another beery frustration for me.

As I said in my announcement for session #94, the question of my role in beer was provoked by a quick tweet exchange where @andrewinski1 suggested that rather than dropping pretty much completely out of the beer scene (as I think that I have), that I have simply moved to another place in said ‘scene’. I thought it was an interesting observation and question, and in turn thought it would make a good topic for session #94.

Contrary to popular belief I never really saw myself as having any kind of role in the beer scene for the longest time, and it was only an accident that changed those circumstances. Prior to me coming to America I was just I guy that drank good beer, took an interest in it, and usually made some notes on the beers that I drank. I would regularly try new beers but never ‘hunted’ them, nor was I ever involved with any beery social interaction other that chatting to the guy at the other end of the bar if we happened to catch one another’s eye. Of course, the lack of social interaction was partly due to the fact that all of what I am talking about was long, long before the Internet and social media, but at the same time I never once felt inclined to engage people about beer very much.

The Session, a.k.a. ‘Beer Blogging Friday’, is an opportunity once a month for beer bloggers from around the world to get together and write from their own unique perspective on a single topic. Each month, a different beer blogger hosts the Session, chooses a topic and creates a round-up listing all of the participants, along with a short pithy critique of each entry. Friday December 5th 2014 will see my latest ‘hosting’ of The Session, #94 in the series.

From a point in time when I was amongst the top 10 posters on the whole of Beeradvocate, to now, where I barely post any formal reviews in the public domain or blog much anymore, I have witnessed my own role in the beer scene evolve over time. I’ve thought about what my role is on many occasions in the past, and even (sort of) written about it once before, but a reply to a Tweet of mine a few days ago got me thinking about that question once again.

As I reacted to the crock that is #stoutday, @andrewinski1 replied to my succinct thought, and it got me thinking – which part of the beer scene do I currently inhabit?

Southern Tier is a real Jekyll and Hyde brewery for me, with a range of beers that I have simultaneously enjoyed (Creme Brulee and Krampus), hated (Imperial Cherry Saison) and felt largely indifferent about (Phin & Matt’s and 2XIPA). As such, I tend to be ambivalent toward them, and with so much beer available to me these days they are a brewer that has gone from a regular in the rotation to an almost forgotten player for me.

It would appear that they have a slightly new look for this particular mini-series, and at first I did not recognize the beer as being theirs. These days I don’t have my finger on the pulse quite as much as I used to, and since this has a ‘DOB’ date of 04/09/14 (not sure if or why ST are copying a Budweiser type DOB), this has obviously been around for a while, but I haven’t seen it in GA until now.

Each year since 2001, often as a result of multiple visits, I have been reviewing and writing about the catastrophe that HHBCo. has become over the years. During that 13 year period, I have probably visited the island and HHBCo. in excess of 20 times, and a pretty extensive list of my previous thoughts can be seen here – you should read that post first.

For all intents and purposes, for massive parts of the United states, draught (and often bottled) bitter and/or mild is simply not available, so this means that 5 of the 6 of the concoctions on the list were immediately out of my reach. As a result, and because I have never really been a fan of mixes from either a taste or a philosophical point of view, I decided that I would pass on the drinking and simply write about my experience of dealing with them when growing up in England.

The overwhelming thing that I remember about them was the different names that they were given depending on where you were in the country. I only really remember a couple of common ones from the Southwest, and I would love for others to chime in with their own, particular, regional names for these two plus whatever they remember.

Half a bitter and a bottle of light ale – A light split or light and bitter

Half a bitter and a bottle of brown ale – Adark split or brown and bitter

I believe that the site was originally a trading site that grew out of the discontent and disgust at BA, but it now seems to have reached the kind of critical mass that may make it useful. We’ll see, and I am entering with an open mind. More to come.

So here I am, on the morning of another Atlanta Cask Ale Tasting (#ACAT), but this time I am not getting ready to head to the event later in the day. The #ACAT of 2014 will be the first one that I have not attended since the inaugural gathering. The reasons for my decision not to attend today, are outlined in this post that I wrote on this same morning, 12 months ago. I vowed not to return in 2014 and I am good to my word.

The post from 12 months ago summed up the whole situation for me then, but this years event brings with it some irony. In 2014 there seems to be more, traditional British casks* than ever before, so 2014 probably represents the #ACAT that I would have been most pleased with. However, despite that, I remain steadfast and principled, and my decision leaves me at great peace.

*I say that, but when one looks at the list, there’s a LOT of beer that although I assume will be undefiled, still sits at ABV’s that are WAY above what showcases cask well, and is from breweries like Thornbridge who, in a number of instances, are FAR from ‘traditional’. I’m certainly not missing out on any, subtle, REAL @sessionbeer!

I’m rather proud of that tweet since I think it sums up a significant sector, and a very large part of the mentality that holds back the American beer scene. I stand by it and I think that it is actually a pretty accurate assessment of where things stand in US beer ‘culture’. My mistake however was to not make it clear that my criticisms were not necessarily directed at any specific brewery, and not necessarily at Hill Farmstead. I say ‘not necessarily’ since it could be that my criticisms do fit them, but at the same time I do accept the fact that I don’t know them well enough to be able to make that assertion with any certainty.

Having said all of that what I feel is undeniable is this; many breweries, of all sizes, are secretly rubbing their hands with glee at the non-discriminatory habits of the ignorant, craft beer buying public in the US. There is a huge immaturity that grips, and in many ways drives, the market here in America. Punters are continually happy to buy rare (small distribution) beer, regardless of the quality of the product, and are content to pay premium prices for the privilege. As a result, many breweries deliberately influence supply by simply making things ‘one-offs’ and ‘limited’. It’s difficult (probably impossible) to tell where any brewery truthfully stands on this, and of course they would never let on, but my bet is that they all love it, since it drives up demand and hype, and can make the success of their product largely independent of quality – in short, it’s a very convenient truth for them!

All of this applies equally to breweries that are producing great beer and crappy beer – they ALL benefit. Hill Farmstead (and many others like them) is definitely benefiting from this pervading ‘culture’ regardless of the quality of their product. I’m not saying that Hill Farmstead’s beer is not good, I’m saying that to a large degree, that by limiting supply that it actually doesn’t matter! That’s my point, and at its heart it’s a criticism of consumers and not brewers.

Of course, the ones that stand to gain the most in the short to mid term are the players that are producing mediocre beer, since in such an environment they can continue to sell it regardless of whether it is good or not. One would think that the market will eventually correct itself, but for now, the ignorance that infects such a large part of the American craft beer buying public shows no sign of letting up, and even weak brands can continue to do OK, and in some cases, actually thrive.

I have absolutely no reason to doubt the sincerity of Shaun Hill as a brewer, or the sincerity of his motivation, but capping at 150,000 gallons per year forever, is a very convenient marketing tool in the current atmosphere that pervades the American brewing scene. At best, it’s a happy coincidence.